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Master Bedroom Before

I’ve often heard your master bedroom should be a top priority on your home decor to-do list. Somehow I’ve never heeded this notion, and the master bedrooms in all of our homes have been close to the bottom of my list of to-dos.

Nothing’s changed this go ’round either. I’m actually having serious design cloudiness for this room. I think I’ve got the major things nailed down, though. I truly love my upholstered bed from Overstock. You can see some similar ones from Overstock here. The bedside tables and dresser are from the same store (Kayu) in Louisiana as our coffee table and buffet and will undoubtedly be lifetime pieces.

The bookshelf is a piece we were fortunate enough to acquire after the passing of Paul’s maternal grandparents. It’s beautifully old and clearly busting at the seems with all of my books. (Something I’m quite proud of, actually. One can never have too many books.)

The dresser currently displaying our TV is a piece that belongs to Paul’s parents. They were kind enough to let me fish it out of the storage closet here in the building, clean it up and set that big TV on it. Promise I’ll be careful not to scratch it up. It’s so pretty and curvy. And that gun case, well, it’s too heavy to move, so that’s where it lives for now.

So here’s where it gets cloudy. Our current bedding is a quilt set I found at T. J. Maxx. But, I have those two adorable dogs with black/dark hair that shed so badly. I am one of those people who desperately wants to have one of those crisp, white duvets, but our dogs have been sleeping on our bed for quite a while now, and we just can’t stop that out of nowhere. I mean, sure we could, but we’re not gonna. Needless to say, the crisp, white duvet is out. And I don’t know if you’ve ever looked for a dark bed topper be it a comforter, quilt, duvet, whatever; it’s slim pickings out there. I found this really pretty and trendy one that I liked a LOT, but Paul wasn’t really going for it. As you can imagine most men wouldn’t. It sure is pretty, though.

I thought for a hot second about leopard because leopard is totally a neutral in my book. But it has to be done right or it can start looking a bit cheap. I think this styling is gorgeous and would love for this to be my room.

And then I saw a pretty option with a fur blanket that could be pretty when expertly strewn across the bottom of the bed when it’s made but could also be the actual blanket used every night that keeps us warm. But Alabama is HOT in the summer and let’s face it, as much as I’d like to say I make my bed everyday, that’s just not the case. Plus it’s probably not machine washable, and that’s a must with pups.

So, I’m stumped on bedding.

I’m also stumped on window treatments. I have nothing on those giant windows which makes for some terrible lighting in these photos. I apologize. I originally wanted drapes from this material.

I love it so much and have seen it used as drapes and to cover ottomans and as upholstery for chairs. It’s fun and funky, and I’m in love with emerald green. But every time I try to make them work in this space, I feel like I need a dark wall and crisp, white bedding. *Sigh*

I’m not beyond leopard window treatments. Again, it’s a neutral. It literally goes with everything.

So, I’m stumped on window treatments.

Also, you can see I have not one thing hung on the walls. I’ve planned to hang this mirror, another treasure we got from Paul’s grandparents, above the bed. I just haven’t bit the bullet because I was waiting to see if I knew what kind of curtains I would be hanging and would it “go”.

I had planned to hang our wedding portrait above the bookshelf, but now I’m not so sure. I have no idea what should go above the TV and don’t even get me started on the dresser. *SIGH* I feel like I’m better than this.

The eagles were also from Paul’s late grandfather. He loves them so much that we always have them displayed in our homes, but I haven’t figured out what to do with them except sit them on top of the massive dresser all alone. Well with the vases that I love. They were a wedding gift and are from Karen Rainey Interiors. I fell in love with them the moment I saw them, and I’m so thankful we were gifted these gorgeous pieces. They need flowers, I know. I’ve been saying that for about 6 years now. (I told you master bedroom decorating was not my strong-suit.)

So, I’m stumped everywhere. This is real life. I’m not going to sugar coat it here. I struggle with this space. I always have in every home, and as much as I love home decor and all things beautiful, I am clearly lacking a bit. I want something timeless and pretty and functional. This is not a space where everything is going to be perfect all the time. We live in this room. Our dogs live in this room. We throw clothes on the floor and shoes on the floor and don’t close the closet doors and stack clothes on top of the dresser and sometimes have three water cups on each nightstand because we don’t always take them to the kitchen every morning and there are dog toys and dog hair, so it’s got to look nice but still function for us which, in my opinion, is important for all areas of your home. Otherwise it would just be a house you live in and not your home.

I know these are first world problems. Please know that this is one of the least important things in my life and quite possibly why it sits so low on my to-do list. But I do want to decorate my bedroom and style it with pretty things and make it functional for our family. Perhaps I’ll figure it out soon and there will be an “after” to this “before” post. If any of you have good ideas/suggestions or want to share some of your bedroom decor that you love and that works for you, let me know in the comments. Or tag me in your photos on Instagram. I’d love to see them!

Earrings and Bracelets and Necklaces, Oh My!

Since we moved in about six months ago, I’ve pretty much taken over the guest room. It is the room with the least and the most purpose. It is basically our office, gym (haha, like twice), storage space, my closet, and my dressing room. The closet in the master was too small for both my husband and I to hang our clothes, so I decided I would take the closet in the guest room. I’m usually up earlier than he is, and let’s face it, I go through my closet every single morning absolutely sure that I have NOTHING to wear. (Don’t we all?) And secretly wishing there was some kind of magic in the world where everything I pinned on my Fashion Pinterest Board would just show up! Needless to say, that doesn’t happen and Paul would be mighty grumpy every morning if I were doing this where he is trying to sleep.

One of the areas in my guest room is designated to my jewelry. A very small area, I might add. It’s a two drawer night stand that has been passed down to us and has stuck around through our moves. And as you can see, I had this super fabulous, totally functional organization strategy going on with all that jewelry.

Right? I mean, totally works.

In my house in Louisiana I was having the same problem. Then, one day Paul and I were strolling through TJ Maxx and I found this pretty brilliant jewelry organizer. I linked the jewelry holders page from TJ Maxx just above and y’all, they are SO CUTE!

I bought it for just under $15, I think and got to work organizing (or as one of my students says “orgazining”-cracks me up every time she wants to “orgazine” the markers in the art center). I hung it inside my closet and was just as excited about it then as I am now and promptly posted it to social media.

So even after settling into our apartment I just didn’t get around to hanging it up. I guess I was looking for the “perfect” spot to hang it. And when you’re short on space, especially that nice walk in closet space you had before, it’s tough to envision where you’re going to put something like that. Especially in the middle of a guest room.

So, I had a free afternoon one day and decided I was going to hang this thing and get my jewelry organized. It’s one of those tasks that seems daunting because you might have to measure and get tools out and hammer and nail and balance on a stool or ladder, but it totally only took about an hour from start to finish.

I pulled out the organizer, dusted it off, and got it ready for hanging.

I really like the staggered knobs for hanging those longer necklaces.

I did use my tape measure to make sure that I was getting the right distance between the holes on the back. There were no studs in the wall so I used these hooks. Paul calls them Hercules Hooks, but I’m pretty sure I got the cheap ones at Walmart because these were called Monkey Hooks. The package said one hook can support 25 pounds, so I think the monkeys will get the job done. 🙂

I was able to hang all of my necklaces, a few bracelets, and all of the earrings with hooks for backs with room for more! 🙂

On the table I didn’t do too much to the bracelet holder, but you can see that I did lay out some of my most worn bracelets. All of the bracelets laying out came from a wonderful website called Wrist Soiree. She has beautiful pieces, and they have all held up really well.

I received this gorgeous tray from a student this year for Christmas and instead of storing it away in my china cabinet, I decided to use it for my dangly earrings that have post backs, my funky ring holder, and a rhinestone pin. Most of these earrings are from Walmart. The navy blue tassel ones are on sale for $3!!! They have so many cute styles right now. I had to restrain myself the last time I went grocery shopping.

Inside the drawer I just cleaned it up a bit. I set up my rings in an old velvet lined box and straightened up a box of jewelry I was given from my Granny’s collection. Inside the sparkly box I stored jewelry that I don’t wear anymore or wear that often but that has sentimental value. Plus, that box is super sparkly, and I can’t bring myself to part with it. The glass heart box is something I believe I’ve had since high school. I separated the two pieces and put all of those little clear backs in it. This makes it so much easier for me and I don’t lose them quite as often anymore. The other half of the heart holds all of my stud earrings on the top of the table.

Most of my jewelry is costume jewelry. I have some nicer pieces from Kendra Scott, BaubleBar, and certain boutiques I’ve bought from here and there, but for the most part, most of it comes from more affordable places like Walmart or Wrist Soiree and occasionally Target. Another place to find great, inexpensive jewelry is Versona. If you haven’t browsed this store in East Chase, I encourage you to. In Louisiana it was set up much like Charming Charlie (another great place for affordable jewelry) and was color coordinated. I have many pieces from there. Those blue and gold circle earrings and the green ones beside it on the tray are from Versona as are the coral Kendra Scott look-a-like ones hanging on the wire. And one more great local place to find cute jewelry is The Pineapple. Especially if you catch a Wednesday sale on jewelry!

My hope for this post was to inspire anyone who was having trouble finding a method to the madness like I was. Do any of you already have a jewelry organization system? I dream of a huge closet with a built in chest of drawers just for jewelry. Something like The Container Store or Ikea would do. *Swoon* Have any of you made a cute jewelry organizer? Share in the comments to let me know. I just might need to make some tweaks to my own system.

Home Again

I’m home again. I grew up in this lovely town in Alabama, moved a short 100 or so miles away for college and then further south to the great state of Louisiana for my foray into adulthood. But now we’re (my husband and I) are back to our old stomping grounds as they say, and I think we’re feeling pretty good about it. I had my reservations at first. I have always said I’d never come back here to live. What else is it that they say? Never say never. Hmm… Needless to say, we are back and living in our hometown, and despite what I may have said before about never living here again, we’re settling in quite nicely.

When I moved to Louisiana 8 years ago, I assumed I’d be there for a year for an adventure and then come right back the next year to get a job back in Alabama. I’m a teacher by trade, but I was having a hard time getting a job in Alabama. When my cousin’s wife called to tell me about a job at the school where she had previously worked, I decided I had to take it. I moved in with her and her husband (my cousin) and their six month old baby. (What where they thinking letting me come live with them with a newborn baby?!-God bless them for that!) I ended up actually loving it there. I moved in with a co-worker, who also happened to basically be my teaching mentor and taught me incredible teaching tools and helped shape me into the type of teacher I am today. I worked at this school for five years, made life-long friends, and grew up a lot. Also while working there I bought my first car, got engaged, got married, and bought my first house. (I have searched and searched and can’t find a picture of my house. I know I have them somewhere. Perhaps it’s on a flash drive in one of the 15 unpacked boxes still in the corner of my guest room.)

Anyway, I loved that house. I had to go see it without my husband, but as soon as I walked in the door, I knew it was home. I texted him when I left letting him know I thought it was the one, and the rest is history. We painted every room in that house, put on a new roof, replaced the old, dated laminate floors with beautiful new laminate. Here’s an Instagram picture I screen grabbed from my phone. The lighting doesn’t do them justice. They are such a beautiful light, wide plank, but the lighting in the picture looks so yellow.

You can see more of our old house and what I’m currently up to by checking out my Instagram feed.

We’re not here to talk about my old house or my life in Louisiana, but that’s where my current story starts. I got a call one summer about a Pre-K position that was opening up in a public school about five minutes away from my house. I knew the money would be better and the experience would be different and possibly better as well. So I interviewed and got the job. The people I met there became family. I worked with some of the most amazing women. We went through some very good and some very bad times together in the short three years that I spent with them. They will forever be in my heart and thanks to social media, most especially Snapchat, we’ll forever be in each others “inboxes”. I was about to start my fourth year at this school when I got a text from my sister-in-law about a possible job opening in a town close to home in Alabama. I was hesitant at first, but when we learned that there was a job opening for my husband as well, our ears perked up a little and we started paying attention to the things that were starting to happen in our lives. That job my sister-in-law told me about turned out to be a dead end, but the job for my husband did not. And then, my current job fell into my lap. God was really working to bring us back home. Like, REALLY working. As it turns out, my husband’s parents own a few rental properties that just so happened to become available at the exact time we were entertaining the idea of moving back home. We knew it would be a struggle financially because we would have to worry about selling a house. And let’s just brag on God some more here, okay? Because our house sold in about a month during a massive flood in Louisiana that was literally mere miles from our house. We were so blessed to have our home spared. And it was all God.

So, as I said above, I’m home again. I now live in an apartment downtown on a beautiful street with historically rich buildings all around. I know some of my Louisiana friends have asked for some pictures of our current home, so I thought I’d share some of it here.

Let’s start with the foyer. Like I said, I live in an apartment. It sits above retail space on a main road. We are a one story walk-up from the street that shares a foyer with another apartment. We live on the right. Forgive the wonky iPhone photo.

This building is over 100 years old and FULL of character. Take in those beautiful walls and hardwood floors. I’ve got all kinds of heart eyes for this space. I believe that it is all original to the building. You can’t see it in this picture, but if you were to pan down the sides of both walls there are door ways that look as if maybe it was a boarding house at one time.

Here are a few pictures from our living and dining area. You can see our kitchen as well since it’s an open floor plan, but we’ll get to that later.

The sofa is from Home Furniture. Paul went furniture shopping without me one day and picked out this whole leather living room set. It really is beautiful, but when we moved in to this apartment, all of the pieces wouldn’t fit. Our love seat currently lives in the guest room/office/gym/my closet/my dressing room/storage room. You guys!! I may never show you that room. You would die if you saw it right now. I had to literally step over things just to get to the computer table. (Insert that fun face palm emoji here!)

Sweet Bernie is my little sidekick, so I didn’t argue with her being in the picture.

As you can see we don’t have a whole lot of decor going on. I’ve done a little, but the walls in the dining area are still bare as is the area above the TV.

The buffet and coffee table came from a wonderful store in Louisiana called Kayu that is unfortunately closed now. They are wonderfully crafted pieces of furniture made in India. We have several more of their pieces in our bedroom that we’ll no doubt keep forever.

The painting above the buffet is something I painted a few years ago. I was loving all of the abstract paintings I was seeing on Instagram and Pinterest and decided to make my own. When I scored a canvas on clearance at Joann’s I knew it was time to make it.

This is our door from the foyer, so essentially our “front” door.

The dining chairs are from TJ Maxx about a year or two ago. The round table is the first piece of furniture my parents bought when they got married. They now have a pretty spectacular table that I’ll have to show you soon. It totally trumps this one, but this one is special to me. It’s where I grew up having dinner every night, and I love that I get to have it.

This big mirror is from my in-laws. They also own the retail space that is below my home and while it was vacant, I got to explore and asked if I could have this mirror. It really brightens the space up and I got to hang those fun twinkle lights I found at the dollar spot at Target at Christmas time.

I created this gallery wall just before Christmas. It took me three stinking days to get it all put together, but I did it very cheaply with free printables from Pinterest and some pieces I already had.

I love that the overall shape resembles a heart. Lots of love is represented in those things up there.

I’m standing in our kitchen while taking this picture. I have an idea of what I’ll put above the TV, but just haven’t gotten around to getting it up there. And I also have fabric for some fun curtains for that big window. Can’t wait to get those up and share with you!

Our TV stand came from Rooms to Go. It was a scratch and dent piece that we’ve had for about 6 years and has held up beautifully and through two moves. When we bought it we lived in an apartment on the third floor with no elevator. That same cousin I moved in with when I first moved to Louisiana came over and helped Paul carry it up all those stairs. Again, God bless him!

The sconces came from a precious store in Denham Springs, Louisiana. I can’t remember the name. But if you ever go there and go to that one street with all the second hand stores and other fun stores, it’s the big one on the corner. 🙂 Help me out Louisiana friends on the name!

I believe the rug is from Home Decorators. I found it on sale and fell immediately in love. I think it’s on sale again now! If you look closely, you’ll see Jack up there too behind the coffee table.

It’s such a charming apartment, and I genuinely love our little home. It has two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. It also has a very nice deck that we share with the neighbors. We spend a good deal of time out there every day with the dogs.

I hope you’ll come back to see more. It’s been such a journey making it our home, and goodness knows I’ve got a long way to go.